


Constellations

by TeaHouseMoon



Category: Call Me By Your Name (2017), Call Me By Your Name - All Media Types, Call Me by Your Name - André Aciman
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Black Mirror Episode: s04e04 Hang the DJ, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Inspired by Black Mirror, M/M, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:34:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29489895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaHouseMoon/pseuds/TeaHouseMoon
Summary: This is Elio’s first date, the first time he does this - he’s just turned twenty. That’s when people have to start the matchmaking process - there is a plan to it, apparently, or that’s what the Government says - and Elio has been awaiting this moment with curiosity but most of all, trepidation
Relationships: Oliver/Elio Perlman
Comments: 43
Kudos: 69





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As you know, I have taken a break from writing due to the real life mess that’s been going on now for over a month. 
> 
> It’s been really sad to find out about and witness but I’ve tried to distance myself and crawl out of it, because I refuse to let it take away something I love, which is writing. 
> 
> It’s been difficult to feel inspired, to be honest. I had this first chapter written for ages, but never posted it, so I thought I’d go ahead and post it now in the hope that it will encourage me and inspire me to write more. 
> 
> I hope you like it. You guys have been such a support for me both here and on Facebook and Twitter, and I want to thank you for all the love you’ve sent my way. 
> 
> Please do leave me a comment if you read this and let me know what you think. I don’t know how regularly I will update, but I promise I will try. 
> 
> Lots of love xx

_  
Relationship One._

  
“Oh. Wow. Are you a model?”

It is the first thing that the handsome man in front of him says, and Elio chuckles, looks down because he feels himself blush.

Elio does look good - tall, slender, with pale skin, green eyes and dark, thick curly hair. But so does the man who he’s meeting tonight. 

He’s tall, too, taller than Elio - Elio has to look up to meet his eyes - well-built, wide shoulders, with a face that’s manly and handsome, his blonde hair the perfect contrast to the ebony of Elio’s curls.

“I’m not. I’m not a model,” Elio replies, still only attempting fleeting looks up into his partner’s face.

The man smiles, his eyes still appraising Elio, seemingly liking what he sees. “Well, you should be.” He offers his hand for Elio to shake. “I’m Oliver.”

They sit down at their table and Elio feels his face burn still.  


This is his first date, the first time he does this - he’s just turned twenty. That’s when people have to start the matchmaking process - there is a plan to it, apparently, or that’s what the Government says - and Elio has been awaiting this moment with curiosity but most of all, trepidation.   
He has older friends who’ve had experience of mismatched coupling, which resulted in wrong relationships, no attraction, no affinity. And yet they still had to go ahead with it because they needed to be with their partner for as long as the system said.  
They called it ‘Coach’, because that was the name the Government gave to the little talking devices that all of them received on their twentieth birthday, the ones which told them when an encounter was organised for them, what to do, how long they were going to be with their partner for, and exactly when the relationship had to end.

After dinner, they say goodbye outside the restaurant. Standing in front of each other, Elio looks up at Oliver, smiles a little.

He says, “You smell really good,” because yes, Oliver does. 

“You’re beautiful,” Oliver replies.

Elio looks down for a moment, and then back up, smile still on this face.

“Yeah, you’ve said it.”

“Sorry. I don’t mean to be - weird.”

Oliver is kind of awkward now, which is endearing. Elio smiles again.

“No, no. You’re not.”

And so when he gets home, Elio speaks to Coach.

“I really like him. That was a good match.”

Coach’s robotic, slightly tinny voice responds.

“Excellent. I am glad the match was successful.”

“But why only six weeks?” Elio continues, clutching the device in his hand, biting the inside of his cheek. “I like him. I want to be with him. For longer.”

“It would be inaccurate to confirm Relationship One as your final. More data is necessary,” the voice replies, impassible, the light turning on intermittently on the small electronic orb to punctuate the words.

Elio sighs, rolls his eyes. “More data from other relationships?”he grumbles. And then, quieter: “From men who I’m sure will not care about me, and who I won’t care about?

“That’s correct,” the voice repeats.

Elio sets his jaw. Places Coach on his bedside table, and takes a deep breath. When his thoughts go back to Oliver, he lets them. 

He still has six weeks with him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you SO much for all your comments to the first chapter!
> 
> This is another short one. And I’m sorry it’s taking me longer to update. I’m slowly trying to get back into the grove of things, and I find it’s easier to do that with shorter chapters. I hope you don’t mind. 
> 
> Do keep letting me know what you think!
> 
> Love to you all.

  
The second date is when Elio is dropped off in front of an apartment building that he hasn’t seen before.

He’s checked Coach before leaving his own apartment. He was anxious, and full of adrenaline. He had a dream that he somehow forgot the appointment and missed the date, and so he has been checking the time and the little screen on Coach’s display every few minutes, even though he knows Coach would have reminded him if he had forgotten. Missing dates is not something that’s allowed by the System.

Coach also tells you what’s supposed to happen during each date. Whether it’s a drink, or a dinner, whether you’re supposed to have any physical exchange. 

Elio’s thumb has been hovering over the display, trembling, nervous as hell. Because it’s his Relationship One, and he didn’t know what to expect. And once he clicks on the screen, Coach will tell him what he will need to do. Oliver will get the same message if he checks his own device.

Elio has checked just before getting in the cab that the System sent for him, because he was so, so nervous. He’s sighed, in relief, when the display read ‘dinner.’ 

So, nothing else was expected, not that night. 

Elio has exhaled; but something, a tiny sliver of disappointment, also flickered in his stomach. 

So Oliver cooks dinner for the two of them. 

His apartment is nice, similar to Elio’s, but tidier, of course, more grown up. Oliver is seven years older than him, after all.

“How many,” Elio starts, clears his throat for a moment. His heart is still beating fast. “How many relationships have you had?” He means how many times he’s been assigned a partner by Coach. 

“Five,” Oliver says. He cleans his mouth politely with a serviette, unperturbed.

Five. Five relationships. Elio is dying to ask how long they each were, how did he find them. If he’s actually fallen for anyone.

“It was okay. You know. It’s good to try out, see what you like, what you don’t like in a partner. It’s the only way to know,” Oliver says.

Elio nods, softly. Glances at his Coach, placed on the table next to his plate, the red led flickering every few seconds. It’s like it’s dormant. 

After dinner, Elio isn’t sure what to do. 

He’s still sipping on his glass of wine, while Oliver takes away the empty plates. When Oliver asks him if he wants a refill, he says yes.

“Want to come out on the balcony? It’s a nice night,” Oliver says, with a gentle smile. 

It is a nice night, and Elio’s had a really good time so far, if he forgets the nervousness that he’s feeling and that he’s made him stumble over words a few times - but Oliver didn’t seem to mind.

He stands, and reaches for Coach, but Oliver places his hand on top of Elio’s, to stop him. “It’s okay. We can leave them here. It’s just for a few minutes.”

Elio blinks. He doesn’t know if this is allowed. They told him he always needs to keep Coach with him, especially if he’s on a date. 

But Oliver’s smile is so warm, and he’s so good looking, and Elio is so attracted to him. The night is nice, and you can see the stars from Oliver’s balcony. 

He leaves Coach on the table and follows Oliver. 

“I’m glad you came tonight,” Oliver says, after they’ve both chatted a bit, leaning on the railing, looking out at the skyline.

“Don’t think they would have been happy if I didn’t,” Elio says. Then realises his blunder. “I mean - what I mean is-“

Thankfully, Oliver laughs. “I know what you mean.”

“But I like you. I mean. I do. I would have come. Even if - ugh,” Elio babbles. He looks away, his face aflame. He is so bad at this.

He’s still looking away when he feels a hand touching his. Oliver’s fingers are over his; warm, and they’re gently holding. 

“I’m glad you like me,” he says. “I like you too.”

Elio doesn’t remember when he turned around. Doesn’t remember how it happened. But what he knows is that Oliver is kissing him. His lips on Elio’s lips, gentle and warm. 

Elio closes his eyes, because he has been dreaming of this since the first moment he’s laid eyes on Oliver. 


	3. Chapter 3

Elio touches his lips when he’s back at home, in his own flat, and thinks.

It was another wonderful evening with Oliver, and he can’t wait to see him again. 

And Oliver  _kissed_ _him_.

Elio touches his lips again, and reminisces - remembering how Oliver’s mouth felt on his, how his lips moved, warm and assured, how his tongue stroked Elio’s and pushed in, and how Elio had opened his own mouth on instinct, his body somehow knowing what to do before his mind did.

Oliver’s hands had moved to his neck, holding his face securely in strong fingers that also wrapped around his throat, a hint of possessiveness that made Elio’s stomach squeeze with desire. 

He’d followed Oliver’s lead, let the kiss go on and on until Oliver had gently pulled back, his lips still kissing Elio’s. The fingers of one hand had sunk into the curls on Elio’s nape and held, squeezed. The little sting of his hair being pulled had travelled Elio’s body like a lightning bolt, and he had submitted to it, closing his eyes, opening his lips very slightly just to let out a quiet breath. He knew Oliver was watching; he knew Oliver liked what he saw.

They had been brought back to reality by Coach beeping from the table inside the apartment, its disembodied voice making itself known.  _Connection lost_.

Elio had squeezed his eyes shut again, letting a crease form in between his eyebrows.

_Connection lost._

“We need to go back in,” Oliver had murmured against the side of Elio’s throat. Honestly, all Elio wanted to do right now was to be kissed by Oliver, however and wherever he wanted to. His eyes refused to open; he had never experienced this, Coach losing connection, leaving Coach behind to begin with. 

But he knew Oliver was right. 

Coach had stopped beeping as soon as they had walked back in, connection apparently restored.

Elio looks at it now, as it sits on his bedside table, light flickering gently in a hue that’s conducive to sleep. 

Elio hugs the pillow to his head, and closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and tries to relax enough to fall asleep. 

Elio is on edge most of the next day, waiting for Coach to beep, to tell him when the next date with Oliver will be. He can hardly concentrate, can’t really do anything. Coach finally beeps when he’s on his bed, trying to read one of his favourite books. 

The next date is tomorrow. 

Elio buzzes all day, until it’s nearly time for his taxi to pick him up. 

He’s dying with curiosity and so, once he’s ready and satisfied that he looks good, he picks up Coach, and clicks on  Events -  what is essentially their ‘to-do’ list for the date, that tells them what they have to do. 

_Dinner._

_First kiss._

Elio kind of want to smirk, kind of want to growl a little bit. They have already kissed, of course, but Coach doesn’t seem to know, and that’s fine by Elio. 

But why aren’t they being asked to do more? Why is Coach being so slow with this relationship? He’s being taken back to Oliver’s and yet all Coach wants them to do is a repeat of the previous date. Basically.

It’s frustrating, and Elio bites his lip. But he still can’t wait to see Oliver, of course. His cab is outside, and so he grabs his keys, and leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter to keep us going. 
> 
> Please do leave me a comment and tell me what you think!   
> Xx


End file.
